Posts Tagged ‘International’

Australia’s National Permaculture Day has gone global. A worldwide celebration of self-reliance is about to take place as permaculture practitioners from California to Cameroon open their properties and share their skills for International Permaculture Day (IPD). “This would have been the fourth year of Australia’s National Permaculture Day but so many other countries wanted to take part that it has become an international festival,” says IPD Australia co-ordinator, Penny Pyett.

Events are planned in about 20 countries, including the US, Chile, Turkey, Cameroon, Spain, the UK and Morocco. “People are fattening their chickens and preparing to harvest their crops. This year’s theme is ‘Share and celebrate’. We want the public to see what we do and celebrate with the movement.”

Permaculture, a design system for sustainable living, was developed in Australia in the 1970s and is practised worldwide. “The movement is growing,” Pyett says. “People are desperate for sustainable solutions.”

On Sunday, May 6, urban and rural permaculture properties in all Australian states and territories will be open to the public, showing sustainable designs that include:

Edible landscapes designed to survive flood, drought and climate change;

There will be kids’ activities, talks, film screenings and workshops teaching everything from keeping chooks to composting. Plus there will permablitzes (sustainable garden makeovers), in which teams of permaculture designers descend on unsustainable backyards and nature strips to turn lawns into edible landscapes. “We want to show permaculture in action,” Pyett says. “By having a special day it’s like a birthday. It’s celebrating all the things we have learnt about becoming more self-reliant and sustainable.”